Fragariavesca is a cousin of the wild strawberry. It is found in
woods and grasslands in Europe, western Asia, North America, and
temperate areas in Chile. The word straw in strawberry
comes from the verb to strew, referring to the tangle of
vines with which the plant covers the ground. Cultivated strawberries
were developed from the wild ones.

Harvest
and Use: The berries, leaves, and roots of Fragaria vesca
have all been used medicinally in the past. The root was once
a popular household remedy for diarrhea and the stalks for wounds.
Antioxidant properties have recently
been discovered in the fruit, making them a valuable preventive
for cancer. The leaves are gently astringent. You can make a tea
with the leaves for diarrhea, digestive upsets, and to stimulate
the appetite. Also, combine the leaves with St. John's wort and
meadowsweet for mild arthritic pain and with celery seed for gout.
Crushed berries make an emergency treatment for mild sunburn.
Eat them for gastritis and as a liver tonic. Strawberry juice
has antibacterial properties and was once used to fight typhoid
epidemics. You can steep the berries in wine to take as a remedy
for "reviving the spirits and making the hart merrie." I
leave it to you to decide if it's the berries or the wine that
makes the "hart merrie."

As
a culinary, the leaves can be added to herbal
teas for flavor. They are a good source of vitamin C. The
fruit is delicious all by itself, can be added to summer drinks,
or made into jams and syrup. Alpine strawberries are a natural
bleach. Crush the fruit and mix it with baking soda to make a
toothpaste for stained teeth. Drinking tea made from the leaves
will do the same. Another remedy for discolored teeth applies
the crushed fruit to the teeth and leaves it on for five minutes.
The crushed berry can also be applied to skin blemishes and liver
spots as a natural bleach to whiten skin.

Harvest
the berries as soon as they ripen. Gather leaves throughout the
season. They can be used fresh or dried.

Cultivation
and Propagation: Alpine strawberry is a low-growing, compact
perennial about 10 " high with a spread of 8". The leaves are
long-stalked with three coarsely-toothed leaflets. Flowers are
round-petaled in flat clusters on a separate stalk from the leaves.
The fruit is a small, scarlet, cone-shaped berry studded with
tiny, brown seeds. They have a fragrance and taste more delicate
than the larger cultivated berries.

The
plants like humus-rich, acid soil
in a sheltered site in sun or partial shade. They are hardy to
zone 4, but deteriorate after a
few years and need replacing. Plant in the garden as a border
or in outdoor containers where it's very happy because it doesn't
put out runners like most strawberries.

Alpine
strawberries reseed profusely from the seeds found in the skin
of the fruit. It is not difficult to grow alpine strawberries
from seed if you remember to freeze the seed for 3 to 4 weeks
before sowing. Another option is to sow the seed out in the fall.
Alpine strawberries grow quickly and are everbearing. Once the
fruit appears, the plant will continue to bear all season. It
is worth the considerable work it takes to harvest the fruit because
of their succulence and perfume.

Pest-free,
but cover with netting once the fruit sets to discourage hungry
birds and animals.